Dinosaur masks, easels, 1,000 top hats: Inside NYC’s free store for teachers
This story was originally published on Oct. 8 by The City Reporter. Sign up here to get the latest stories from The City Reporter delivered to you each morning. It’s become a ritual for many New York City teachers: Head to a 35,000-square-foot warehouse on Northern Boulevard in Queens, take the elevator to the third floor, grab a shopping cart and don’t leave until it’s filled to the brim with…
Every first Thursday of the month, New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs offers free classroom supplies to teachers at a 35,000-square-foot warehouse on Northern Boulevard in Queens. The program, called Materials for the Arts or MFTA, is funded by the city Department of Education, which sets aside money for teachers' choice allocations to cover the cost of classroom supplies.
However, the reimbursement money doesn't always cover all the materials teachers need, which has led some educators to turn to crowdfunding platforms or MFTA's shopping sprees instead. Teachers can shop between 4 and 7 p.m., when the warehouse is open to public school teachers from over 1,800 schools and some arts nonprofits. The materials come from local theaters and schools, manufacturers' discarded products, and individual donors.
Teachers can pick up everything from office supplies and arts and crafts to couches and tables. MFTA education and gallery director John Cloud Kaiser emphasizes the program's mission to democratize art supplies, believing that everything is an art supply and that everyone is an artist. Teachers have used MFTA's offerings for various projects, from props for theatrical productions to tools for model making and laser engraving.
The program runs through the end of June, providing teachers with a mix of supplies to help them run their programs without stressing about budgets.
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